Bribing Your Dachshund With Orijen Freeze Dried Treats

Gretel have not had any formal training. They have learned a few things that were easy to pick up in a day or two or out of habit.

For example, they have learned to wake me up at 5 am (ok, sometimes 4) seven days a week, without fail, to eat. Chester has learned that if there is a sidewalk, use it. Chester knows “WAIT” from when I used to shout it at him before crossing the street during our old marathon-training days. Gretel is learning the same command but mostly because she takes cues from Chester. I took a class with Gretel where she learned a reliable recall…mostly.

If you ask any long-tern Dachshund owner they will tell you that they are very obedient….as long as you are asking them to do something they already want to do!

I’ll tell you what Chester and Gretel always want to do without fail…EAT! In a a lot of cases, a lack of training can be made up for with treats and a little bribery.

For example, posing for photographs. I haven’t trained them to pose. I haven’t even trained a reliable sit (Dachshunds tend to cheat because their hiney is so close to the ground that they know a half-crouch often looks like a sit looking from the front end of the dog). What I HAVE trained them to mostly sit and wait for a treat. To get them to actually LOOK at the camera, the treats have to be “high value” (as you have seen, even that is not foolproof).

“High value” can mean different things to different dogs. Generally, it is any treat that your dog absolutely goes nuts over and only gets on these special occasions. For Chester and Gretel, I like to use freeze-dried meat treats.

I was out of this kind of treats so it was good timing when Chewy.com contacted me and asked me to try the new Orijen freeze-dried dog treats. I had a good experience with Chewy.com last time, and I really respect the Orijen brand, so I jumped at the chance and ordered the Alberta Wild Board Singles (made with a single meat source).

These treats are great for photo sessions. Their not too big, not too small size is good because Chester and Gretel can see them in my hand but they don’t contain a ton of calories (approximately 7 calories per treat)…which is important when you have to take a lot of photos to get 1 good one. I have tried other freeze-dried treats and either their formula is crumbly and dusty and hard to hold in my hand or they are large and turn to dust when you try to break them into smaller pieces.

I can feel good about giving Chester and Gretel several of these treats because they are getting pure protein and nothing else. They eat grain-free food but it does contain other things like carbs and vegetables. These are like little vitamins to help give their little muscles the protein boost they need to stay strong. Now that it is summer and we are getting more active, they need that.

What is the best treat to bribe your dog with?

Disclaimer: Chewy.com sent me these treats to try free-of-charge but did not compensate me for writing this post. All opinions are my own.

Didn’t you do a review on these treats too? Yes, I knew of Orijen from their dry food so that is how I knew the brand was quality. We feed Acana because it is a bit cheaper and not quite as high in protein…which we don’t need. It’s my understanding that they are made by the same company though. We’d definitely get these treats again.

Well….you probably wouldn’t want to eat these 🙂 I ate some doggy pork jerky the other day but even I would pass on these. I guess it wouldn’t hurt anything though because all they are is meat. I bet Franny would like them enough that you wouldn’t have to try these yourself…or you could pretend….num, num num 🙂

Gretel is actually kind of the same way. She will devour almost anything. However, when she is particularly jonesing for a treat I can tell. She gets a little shaky and clicks her jaw. With these the trick is to get a photo where she is not blurry from shaking 🙂 What is Zaphod’s favorite treat?

It is sort of sad, but Zaphod doesn’t get too excited about food treats. he will take some of them (if they are new, he doesn’t always think they are food). If you want to see him excited, pull out his ball!

Did Flix have a bad experience with the camera or his he just shy? Usually the flash is not an issue because you can’t use it with dogs (red eye) but sometimes I forget and leave it on and it does startle the dogs a little.

Unless he had the bad camera experience before he came to live with us, I have no idea. I don’t use the flash on him, so that’s not it. I think the real problem is that he is NOT particularly food motivated. It’s the same reason it took us three years to train a reliable sit/down and we’re still working on a reliable recall. I’ve given up on a stay. It’s hopeless.

I’ve seen these but we haven’t tried them yet. I’m familiar with and trusting of the Orijen brand because we feed Acana, the other food under the Champion umbrella.
Unfortunately, I can’t get them to sit still for a treat. They get SO excited when they even hear a bag crinkling. Now Li’l Girl on her own, she’ll sit there pretty well while she’s waiting. But Austin, no. He came from a foster home where there were a lot of other dogs, so I’m thinking that he had to be extra “enthusiastic” (i.e. crazy gimme gimme) if he wanted to get his. So there is no sitting still for a treat with him. Maybe with some training. Probably not, if I’m just being honest.
Trying to get pictures without treats doesn’t work either most of the time. Li’l Girl is very camera-shy. The moment a camera (or even a phone) is aimed at her, she looks away. Every. Single. Time. The few pictures of her facing the camera I have/can get are sheer luck.
All the pictures of Chester and Gretel make them seem like camera hams. Turns out, you’re just really good 😉

Thanks for the great post about these treats. Just ordered some! Any thoughts on training and barking with doxies? My doxie before the one I have now was a barker, but I could divert her attention and she would stop.
The one I have now is a reactive barker and sounds like she is being murdered when she even sees another dog! I’ve trie diverting her attention with treats, or turning her away, but to no avail. Thought maybe a more enticing treat might help.
Any thoughts on this or have you had any experience with this!

I’m doing our review of these on the 20th. We picked the Bison, and Nola loves it!
Nola’s highest value (used for recalls when off leash and out of the yard) is hotdog. It’s crack to here. Recall is the only cue I reinforce every single time. Every other one of her (many) cues and tricks is on a variable reinforcement schedule.
Amanda

LOL! Mom thought we were the only dogs that always want to walk on a sidewalk! It is really hard when there is a golf course because we want to walk on the cart path and not on the road! It doesn’t matter if they are trained or not, those precious faces in the camera are super cute 🙂

Dachshunds are very obedient dogs as long as you overlook the 50% of the time that they don’t obey. Sometimes they don’t even want to do the things they want to do. Sometimes they will want something then change their minds in the middle of it.

That’s why I love this breed so much. The miniature longhair that I now own is the best dog I have ever owned in my entire life. I don’t have the advantage of bribing her with food. She’s a finicky eater who would go days without eating if you try to get her to eat just any old brand of dog food. Fortunately she obeys me about 80% of the time which is actually good for a Dachshund.

I’m glad I found this site. I’ll give this brand a try. I hope they have it in small trial packages.

I had to laugh at your comment about our dachshunds not doing what they even want to do half the time! That is exactly what mine does when it is time to go for a walk. Sometimes he comes to the door obediently. Just as often, though, he plays a game of hide and seek with me, acting like he doesn’t want to go. Then, at the last minute when I am going to leave him, he sprints to the door!

Well, its nice to hear that I am not the only one with little training! I get away with the half-sit too. Sometimes in the evening if I am a little too energetic mom gets out the treats, I love to roll over, but shake and drop it I refuse to get the hang of. The point being she is worried about the treats and my weight and will definitely give the Chewy ones a try. My favorite training treats are the organic US beef jerky from Costco but I’m not suppose to have beef! Love Dolly

I always try to bring small ones to photo shoots too because I go through them soooo quickly! English Bulldogs are prone to weight gain so I have to be very careful but Ru won’t do anything unless you have a treat. He’ll just lay there doing nothing. LOL

I am very conscious of the calories too. I bet your photo shoots last longer than ours though so smaller treats for Ru is more important. My problem with the small treats is that C and G won’t do anything “for the treat” unless they can see it in my hand. I like treats that are large enough to see but allow we to break small pieces of when it’s reward time.

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I Am Not Your Vet….

I am just a passionate pet parent that shares a lot of information on this blog. Some of it is researched facts; some of it is stuff I learned through the experience of owning and hiking with a Dachshund for 10 years; and some of it is just good ol' opinion. Please check with your veterinarian before your dog undertakes a new exercise routine, you introduce a new food, treat or supplement, or to confirm that anything I suggest here is a good fit for your dog.

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